Daydream Wonderland...

Hmm, there is something that is so cute and breath taking about a sleeping child...

And unlike most parents I almost no pictures of Hayden sleeping because it would take a parent braver than I to sneak in his room and start firing off my camera with the flash on to take pictures of Hayden. He'd wake up just from me focusing.



Tonight though I picked up my fancy handy dandy Point and Shoot camera (someone has been watching too many cartoons), tried out a DIY filter for the flash on your p&s, complements of Jess @ Irocksowhat. With the flash a big muffled by a piece of paper towel (I have a Canon Powershot 1400, which super duper small, so when I say a piece I mean a piece), I felt a little better about playing creeper in my son's bedroom.




I wish I had the guts to take off the paper towel in order to compare but I am a wimp, but I do notice a dreamy effect that would not be there w/o the paper towel. I will be trying this out a little more in the future


Umm, Also in other news, I have started my own blog. Yup, It really has nothing on it yet because I have not had time to fix it up but check it out follow it you'd like I will do another post once everything is complete to my liking and stuff. I decided about a week ago to make another one just for me instead of doing blogging for both Hayden and I on this site. I really felt as if I was imposing and started hating posting I really want to keep this for Hayden and for those who want to see him, know him, and about motherhood in general. So I made my own. It is called Daydream wonderland. One of the reasons, it took me so long to even make it was I wanted a title that I would really to enjoy and could keep. After experimenting with a few I was mopping my floor late last night when I started daydreaming (or rather night dreaming)once I pulled myself out, I silently scolded myself for always living in my head and daydreaming. I countered with my mind is my wonderland and quickly thought of Daydream Wonderland. So there you have it my blog is Daydream Wonderland: a place for all those thoughts and other random stuff in my life with Hayden and David.

Tonight is the night, lets make it right

Hmmm, I am crazy. I got my freakin' house sprayed today for pests as if that was a good idea. No, it wasn't. To get sprayed, you have to collect, harvest and cover certain things, make sure this and that is this way and such. Well, that went off fine last night. But putting it away is much more time consuming! Once the house is sprayed counters must be washed down with soap and water, the dishes must be washed again and so on and so on. Well, I got the counter tops wiped down in no time but guess what? I have a TON of dishes.
Now you see the problem here, yes, oh yes, I have to go through and try to get all those done. It is late already midnight to be exact and I am tired because I stayed up too late last night. I really wanted to get some things done but to no avail. All I have to my name is the blog title that I just thought of and the blog I just made personally for me, which I have no energy to put anything on. At least not tonight I am way tired and its only midnight. But there is no rest for the wicked I will be up washing dishes until I die of exhaustion simply because I thought I should spray for pests.
Sleep...I hate you.

*sigh*

Yesterday, Hayden cried enough tears to win an Oscar because he didn't want to take a nap. It took an hour to get him to sleep, and I was beyond done with patience. But at bedtime his Daddy took bedtime duties and had him out in 15 minutes without a whimper.


AAAAGGGHH!

Hayden is lucky he is so cute and cuddly,and beautiful when he's sleep.

Wow...Just wow

After finally settling into a wonderful sleep routine with my lovely little boy, I decided it was time for Hayden not only to sleep in his own bed, but in his own bed all by himself not next to ours. And fall asleep in it... I know he is really big now and I should done that a LONG time ago, but I enjoyed co-sleeping. Well, until he got bigger and started taking over my bed. Anywho, I also didn't do it because I know how stubborn Hayden is and how he would take it. Today was my first time trying this, I knew he would protest, I knew he would not like it, I knew he'd get over it and fall asleep. But what I didn't know was that if he was going to not have his way, he would drag me down (or try) kicking and screaming.
Hayden screamed - Not cried, not whined - But full blown, my mommy is murdering me, screamed; he kicked; he thrashed; he slapped me in the face I don't know how many times; KICKED me full force in the nose; and God only remembers what for an hour before I relented to change his diaper. As soon I let him up, he was my sweet little boy again. I was so shocked at the change in him until he started whining again because of course HE WAS SLEEP DEPRIVED! So I told myself to gussy up and put him down, I'm the parent he is the child, and I needed to show him with patient and persistence how to fall asleep in his own bed. As soon as his head hit his pillow he started howling again. I was tired of hearing him scream and also wondering if HE would go to sleep, still I went on. An hour later, his eyes suddenly dipped closed -I mean abruptly, one second he was screaming, then he was falling asleep - and opened slightly and finally he was out.
He fell asleep, he is napping as I write this I'm just not sure I can do this for however long it takes for him to get used to this and/or however long it takes him to self sooth himself back to sleep in the night.

Sleep Training Night 1

Okay, our sleep arrangements with Hayden went south once again. Breastfeeding him to sleep worked one day then not the next and after a couple of nights with my 15 month old son staying up until 1:00am like a teenager, made me repent on thinking he was too young for sleep training. I guess I thought that Hayden would grow out of being put to sleep and then do himself and from there he would go into his own room and bed.
I love to breastfeed, I love to cuddle Hayden to sleep as if he is still that tiny 7lb baby that I brought home. I never in a million years thought I would have to sleep train, I really never gave it much thought. What I did know was that I would breastfeed, that I would co-sleep, to beware of sleep trainers, to let Hayden tell me when he would was ready to stop nursing...but after seeing him literally beat his head on my living room floor because he was so sleepy that he could no longer stand it, I knew I had to some kind of action.
Hayden still loves to breastfeed and I'm not taking it away from him, I just don't want him going to sleep nursing if it's not going to put him to sleep when he needs it. I think if he knows how to lay down and put himself to sleep he will be less anxious about sleep. I feel such like the WORST MOTHER that ever walked on this Earth. Because I have to take full responsibility for letting his sleep get this far out of hand when he depends on me. I am the one who led him to breastfeeding to sleep, at six months all I had to do was lay in the bed next to him and he'd fall asleep. I should have kept it like that, but with his decrease in nursing I thought that he should be put on the breast at night to keep my supply up and his weight (he wasn't fully on baby food yet.) I was DEAD WRONG! And I feel that Hayden is paying the piper for it. When I tell him no he can't nurse to sleep he has full blown fits, I'm talking instant tear works, screaming at the top of his lungs, pulling at my shirt, hitting me. He is so offended that he can't nurse.
Today a started a sleep log to see how much sleep Hayden gets, this will also spill into sleep training to make sure he is getting an adequate amount of sleep every day and night.
Tonight I put him to bed, telling him that I would be near and that he'd have to fall asleep on his own. Hayden doesn't like laying down, so after I laid him down once the tears and screaming started. I simply repeatedly laid him down every time he got up, I did not leave the room as to keep him down every thing he got up. He cried for about 10 minutes that seemed like hours, quieting down eventually to listen to the light music I was playing in the background (as an infant he loved going to sleep with music, especially Jewel.)And within minutes of quieting down, he was knocked out.
I don't mind him still being in my room but he has to be in his bed because he is such a wild sleeper I don't get any sleep with him in my bed. So he has to go into his bed. He is still too young to be in his own room, but I do plan on taking that step when he is two. Well, that is all for now, and after so major tear works on my side for my baby having to cry to sleep, I may be fine, even if a little drained.

Tidbit: Mommy and Baby

It's 1:21pm and Hayden has fallen asleep...not to me breastfeeding him, nope, but to me softly reading him a story about going to sleep. With moments like this, I find myself not wanting to put him down but to stay just like this in Mommy and baby bliss. At 14 months, Hayden is still the same "easy" baby I brought home...well at least sometimes...